Oracle Award to SVYM and Asha for Education

September 24, 2015

Science Education in H.D. Kote Taluk, Mysore district, Karnataka

The Boston chapter of Asha for Education (Asha) and partner Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM) have been working with 20 high schools in this region. Oracle’s grant enables Asha and SVYM to expand this successful initiative to all 91 schools in the taluk, including 12 tribal ashram schools.

The project started with a mobile science van (vignyana vahini) to enable Science lab equipment to reach rural high schools, and has since developed into a multi-pronged initiative that includes community radio Science broadcasts, a hugely popular Science fair, a budding resource center in Saragur town, and the Science teacher network. In particular, the creation of the Science teacher network enables and empowers teachers and is poised to transform Science teaching in the region. The excitement of the teachers is palpable. A cultural shift away from rote memorization and towards the joy of learning is underway. “If a topic is understood, every topic becomes interesting,” says Shashirekha, a high school Biology teacher in the network. While vacant teacher posts are a persistent problem, Dr. M. A. Balasubramanya, CEO of Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement, has a long-term vision to permanently address this. “This project will bring intellectual depth, resources, and opportunities for teachers that are unmatched even in urban areas,” he says. “This will attract teachers to this region, who will be happy to accept H.D. Kote appointments for professional development.” This should be the goal of every rural region.

Asha for Education is a fully volunteer-run 501(c)(3) non-profit with 50+ chapters around the world whose mission is to catalyze socio-economic change in India through the education of underprivileged children. Click here for more details about us.

We work with over 200 projects spread across the length and breadth of India. The projects deal with educational issues from pre-primary schooling to professional education in locations from urban slums to isolated rural areas. Click here to learn more.

You can help us in our mission in a variety of ways. You can join a local chapter, get involved with projects in India at an intimate level with the Asha Stars program, help us with our fundraising efforts, visit a project in India, intern with us or our project partners or Donate! Click here to learn more.